Essam Yousef calls on forces and factions to unite for sake of Jerusalem

Head of the Popular International Committee to Support, Essam Yousef, called on all Palestinian forces and factions to unite for the sake of Jerusalem at a time when the Holy City is witnessing existential challenges affecting its identity.

In a press statement issued yesterday, Yousef said: “The current situation is the motivation to put aside all political differences and to agree on a joint national strategy that determines the mechanisms to confront the Israeli occupation in order to thwart its plans, especially after President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

“The national reconciliation is not a luxury at this stage, but a national and moral duty, especially given the critical challenges facing the Palestinian issue,” he added.

He reiterated his appeal to the factions, saying: “Today Jerusalem requires all Palestinians to unite under its banner. If we are not united by Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state and the capital of the Palestinians, Arab and Muslim spirit and heart, then what cause will unite us?”

He noted that the Gaza Strip today is an area conducive to the meeting of all factions, as the conditions are favourable to formulating national unity projects and to agreeing on the means of facing the Israeli enemy at this time in a manner that matches the popular anger.

Read: The Arab failure on the Jerusalem issue

He also called for “a great presence of Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip in order to agree on the details of achieving the reconciliation and national unity. There is also the need for the majority of the national reconciliation government ministers’ constant presence in Gaza to facilitate the development of an independent national agreement, far from the involvement of the occupation. The agreement must meet the needs and aspirations of the people of Gaza and all Palestinians at this critical stage of their struggle to restore their rights.”

Yousef noted “all political and popular forces in the Arab and Muslim world are required to form alliances amongst themselves in order to keep up with the Palestinian uprising on the ground.”

He stressed “NGOs and humanitarian organisations have a critical and important role to play at this stage. This role involves uniting their efforts to provide support and meet the humanitarian, relief and legal needs of the Palestinian people.”